Just like Bonnie Tyler was holding out for a hero in her hit song from the soundtrack to the 1984 film “Footloose,” racing is searching for that one horse that can capture a nation’s heart and help lead the sport to more prosperous times.

Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra gave the industry a pair of heroines a few years back, two distaffers that were so brilliant and charismatic that even non-horse racing fans couldn’t help but sit up and take notice.

Their impact on the sport transcended their electric performances on the track.

Enter a 3-year-old colt named California Chrome, who each time he runs gains more media attention and attracts additional followers.

Even the casual observer has heard of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness champion who will attempt to make history June 7 in the Belmont Stakes by becoming horse racing’s first Triple Crown winner in 36 years and the first California-bred to sweep the three races.

Only 11 horses in the history of the sport have had the speed and endurance to withstand the rigorous grind of the Triple Crown.

If the large Derby fields didn’t derail them, if the quirky Preakness distance of 1 3/16 miles didn’t upset the apple cart, then the 1 1/2-mile Belmont — “the Test of the Champion” — broke their hearts.

Smarty Jones was considered a cinch by some to end the Triple Crown drought in 2004, only to fall victim to a strong rally by 36-1 longshot Birdstone in the final stages.

There was no way Big Brown could be denied in 2008, according to some, but 38-1 outsider Da’ Tara had other ideas.

Can California Chrome do what 12 other horses have failed to accomplish since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978? Can he withstand the grind of winning three races at three different tracks at three different distances in a five-week span after winning the first two legs?

Advertisement

If so, racing will have its newest superstar, a horse the public can identify with and fawn over.

The question will then be how long we’ll have him to fawn over.

Will co-owners and breeders Steve Coburn and Perry Martin succumb to the pressure of taking the stud fees and retiring the Lucky Pulpit colt before his 4-year-old campaign, or will they run him next year and give fans the opportunity to see their hero race one more season?

It’s a tough dilemma, one that is much more difficult than their decision to turn down $6 million for 51 percent ownership in California Chrome in March, before he won the Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He’s worth more now, and if he wins the Belmont, who knows how much he’ll be worth.

“If he wins the Triple Crown, he will be worth an unimaginable amount of money,” said Dr. Jim Hill, who co-owned 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. “And I think it will be quite worthy.”

Penny Chenery, who owned the great Secretariat, said she was forced to retire Big Red after his 3-year-old season because her father died and his will had to be settled.

“I would’ve loved to have seen what he could do as a 4-year-old,” Chenery said. “I think this one-and-done phenomenon in sports is very fairly destructive. People like to get to know a horse and then continue to root for him.”

Chenery said she’s a big California Chrome fan and will be rooting for him to win the Belmont.

“These gentlemen are the kind that get up and go to work every day, and I don’t think that they will have to do anything different,” she said. “It’s a wonderful story. God bless them, and whatever they decide, they have behaved with dignity and charm. I love the horse.”

She believes Coburn and Martin will continue to race California Chrome.

“Certainly I think the owners have a great understanding of their responsibility to racing,” she said. “I know they will be under great pressure, but I bet they’ll keep going.”

Affirmed ran as a 4-year-old after his brilliant sophomore campaign and a rivalry with Alydar that captured a nation’s heart. Patrice Wolfson, who owned Affirmed along with her late husband Louis, said their decision to continue running was a virtual no-brainer.

“My husband definitely felt that he owed it to racing to race Affirmed as a 4-year-old,” she said. “As it turned out, he was probably a better 4-year-old than a 3-year-old.

“But I think that it’s something that they should do if the horse is sound. They want to run. They love to run, and I think racing needs to see another big champion out there.”

Like many of the rest of us, Wolfson thought Smarty Jones and Big Brown would get the job done. She’s confident California Chrome has what it takes to join one of sports’ most exclusive clubs.

“I think looking today, this horse has the best chance,” she said. “Just something about him. He’s just unique, and some of the others were too, but he just has something special. We like him. We just all think he’s special.

“I think to win the Triple Crown, we want to see a horse that has that excitement, and he has that. Let’s hope he shows it next Saturday.”

Steve Cauthen, at 18 the youngest jockey to win the Triple Crown when he rode Affirmed, is bullish on California Chrome’s chances to get the job done.

“There’s been 12 horses that had a chance, and a couple of them, Big Brown being one, even looked like a lock-in,” he said. “You just never know.

“That’s why they have to run the race. But I’m pretty optimistic that this horse has got a great chance of pulling it off.”